Laws needed to stop revenge porn'

The Internet is a wonderful thing, changing our world in so many ways that it’s hard to quantify. It has opened a wealth of information. It has provided opportunity to millions of entrepreneurs. It has changed the way we communicate and get news.

And it also, unfortunately, created a forum for bullies and creeps.

We’re all well aware of the darker side of the Internet, the outlet it provides to those who prey upon on our darkest urges and desires, those sociopaths who have no regard for civil decency.

It manifests itself in many ways, from thugs and rumor-mongers on Twitter to teenage bullies on Facebook.

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And one of the ways it has enabled those creeps and bullies is a phenomenon called “revenge porn.”

If that sounds bizarre, that’s because it is. It is a genre of pornography in which men -- it’s almost exclusively men -- post photos or videos of ex-girlfriends or ex-wives, without their permission or knowledge, as a means of exacting revenge for whatever slight they perceive may have doomed their relationship. Of course, having the type of personality that would allow one to do something so creepy may have something to do with that person’s inability to maintain an intimate relationship.

“Revenge porn” made headlines recently when the FBI arrested a California man named Hunter Moore, the so-called “king of revenge porn.” Mr. Moore allegedly hosted a website that permitted fellow creeps to post explicit pictures and videos of ex-girlfriends and ex-wives.

The 15-count indictment, reported Time magazine, charged him with paying another man to hack into private computers and steal nude photos. The charges against him include conspiracy, unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information and aggravated identity theft.

He wasn’t charged with publishing “revenge porn” because that, specifically, is not a federal offense.

In fact, federal law protects him. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 -- adopted just as the Internet was in its infancy -- says website owners cannot be held liable for content submitted by users.

The measure is intended to safeguard free speech on the Internet, but it comes with a cost. It permits creeps like Mr. Moore to conduct their nefarious business with impunity.

It’s a fine balance, protecting free speech on the Web weighed against protecting the privacy of victims of the kind of harassment revenge porn perpetrators practice.

It may be a fine line, but it is a line. This is harassment. It is bullying. It is an assault.

And it should be a crime.

In Pennsylvania, it may be soon. A bill to outlaw “revenge porn” — introduced by Sen. Judy Schwank, a Berks County Democrat, recently sailed through the state Senate, passing unanimously.

The bill would outlaw what will be known under the law as “Intimate Partner Harassment.” Offenders would face up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine if the victim is an adult. The penalty is increased to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine in cases involving minors.

It’s a great step, but more needs to be done. Since the Internet does not stop at state borders, it should be a federal offense to publish “revenge porn.”